Family mini album

Hi, and happy Saturday! Hope you're having a great start to your weekend. Today I wanted to share a special mini album I made for a very dear friend of mine. Since I moved here I don't get to see her near as much as I would like , but the times we do get together are special. I am honored to be the godmother to both of her precious girls. Recently, Natasha and her family had their family pics taken and she was so kind as to send me a copy of them and since she's so busy working full time and being a mommy to two little girls , I really wanted to do something special for her. This is what I made to send out to her....

 

I started off with this great wooden mini album from Heidi Swapp which I spritzed with some Tattered Angels glimmer mist. I kept the cover simple as I know Tash doesn't like things too blingy , so I just stamped the date , added a mini banner ( courtesy of CTMH products) and spelled their name out with Thickers letters, added a couple of buttons and a crochet heart and that's it!You can't see the stamped letters in this pic but they do look quite lovely in RL.

 

Again, I grabbed more CTMH stamps , my Cricut and Artiste cartridge and these two pages were done in a snap. All the elements were kept to a very simple color palette of grey and yellow with a few splashes of color here and there. I really wanted to let the photos remain the focal point of each page.

 

I love, love this photo of the girls!!!

 

 

I dedicated a page each to each girl, keeping the embellishments simple and girlie.

 

Here are the proud parents.

 

 

 

 

I created a few pages where Tash can add some journaling. The kitty was made using my Cindy Loo cartridge.

 

 

 And the last page has a pocket for more journaling and extra pics, etc. There a few more pages that I added more family pics .

 

Products used for this project are:

Cardstock, stamps,ink sentiment sticker on last page - Close To My Heart

patterned papers - My Minds Eye

Diecuts -Cricut and Artiste & Cindy Loo cartridges

Alphabet stickers - Thickers by American Crafts

Crochet hearts and mini flags- Bella Blvd

Chipboard elements-Basic Grey

Album and glitter bow paperclips- Heidi Swapp

Vintage fabric stickers-Websters Pages

hemp twine-Walmart

glimmer mist ink-Tattered Angels

 

This album is gonna be a surprise gift - I'm so excited to give it to her!!!!

 

Thanks for visiting my blog today---- have a great rest of your day & weekend, too!!

 

 

Easter Bunny banner

Hi all! When I look out my window and see so much snow still on the ground , it's hard to believe that today is the first day of spring and that Easter is just a couple of weeks away. I'm so ready for some sunshine and warm days!!!  While I'm waiting , I have a couple of projects to share with you today- Easter themed ,of course!

This banner was made using my Cricut and Doodlecharms cartridge. I wanted to try cutting fabric with my Cricut for so long now but I was afraid it would somehow damage my machine or that it it wouldn't cut properly. Not so!!! However, I did discover that a fabric adhesive like Heat'n'Bond applied to the fabric allows for a smoother cut than fusible web does. I now have an old mat dedicated to fabric cutting. These bunnies were cut at 7.5" and the banner shapees were made with the Artiste cartridge at 9".   I love sewing but nothing too complicated and this was so easy!!





I also found this carrot wreath idea on Pinterest and onca again, I love this quick and easy sewing project!

 

 

These carrots are 17" high .... some giant bunny would love these for sure!! LOL  Check out my Pin Board " Easter/Spring" for a link to the site where I for the tutorial on how to make these.

 

 

I'm entering both of these projects over at Shopping Our Stash for their Easter / Spring challenge.

 

Thanks for stopping by today!

 

 

In Gear boy's birthday

Good morning! Happy St. Paddy's day! Did you remember to wear green?? Luckily, on my trip to Ireland last year I got a lovely green Belfast tee and fun Irish socks, so  I'm all ready!!!
This card has no green in it , but it's my nephew's bday tomorrow;  I still can't believe he'll be double digits- it only seems like yesterday he was born. I used this cool set from Close To My Heart called In Gear for his card.... take a look:

 

 

 

I saw a similar card on Wizard's Hangout blog ( this lady has lots of yummy eye candy so check her out!!! ) . I wanted to make it my own so I played around with mySilhouette to get his t-shirt , which is about 2.5 X2.25 inches . I stamped iages from the In Gear set to get this cool funky shirt. The papers are DCWV ( The Generation Tech stack) and the gear behind the tee was cut with my Cricut using the Artiste cartridge. I stamped Happy Birthday ( a Fiskars stamp set) in CTMH black.

 

Here's the inside:

 

 

Once again, I used my Silhouette to make the pocket... not hard at all! I used more of the In Gear stamps for the background and another Fiskars stamp for the bday greeting.

 I really need to make more older boy/teen cards- they have all outgrown the cutesy animal cards!!!

 

Hope you've enjoyed my card today! Have a great day!

 

Pinterest inspired card

Good mornning! How was your weekend? Mine was restful ... for a change ; isn't it  amazing what two days of R and R will do for the body and soul! It For the past month or so my internet has been on the fritz!!! I live in a small community and have satelitte service for my internet and with all this yucky winter storms , it hasn't worked very well- even now it's a bit sketchy at times!!!  But I managed to spend some quality time browsing Pinterest .... my fav place to find just about anything on the web these days!!! Mostly I pin things with grand plans of actually doing (someday....) , and every once in awhile I actually do make something ,like this card....

 

I tweaked my card so that instead of a bird and fence ( to see the original card by Barabara Anders click here)  , I made a gate and a gradening themed card , all made using the Freshly Picked cartridge. I rarely used this cartridge but it has some really cute spring images like the boots and flower pot that I cut super tiny ( boots -1.5"  and flower pot -1). The clouds were made with the Artiste cartridge ( of course!!!), and I just trimmed them a little on the bottom. The sentiment , inked with CTMH Cocoa ink,is from Gina K Stamps called Fresh Start .The pretty patterned papers are from Cosmo Cricket's Clementine collection.

 

Do you Pin? If so, are you are pinner or do you actually make something that you've found?

 

 

Thanks for visiting my blog today... have a great one!!

 

Thinking of You card

Hi all! Wow, can you believe ut's March already??? In just 28 days my DD and I will be travelling to Germany, Hungary and Austria--- can't wait!!! We've been a year planning this trip and now that spring is almost here , I'm getting so excited!!!  But meanwhile, while I'm waiting for spring to officially arrive I thought I'd make a spring card......

I used this week's Mojo sketch for my inspiration:







Of course, I picked the round sketch - I love making round cards!!!

 

I used the Artiste cartridge to make the round card shape and for the bird tag. The sentiment is from Verve stamps and the papers are Amy Tangerine. The flower spray is Prima and the ink is CTMH ( Cocoa).

 

I'm also entering this card at:

Mojo Monday - Round or Square

Shopping Our Stash-  use a tag on your project

 

Thanks for stopping by... have a great weekend!!

 

 

Birthday card and Gift bag

Hi all! I'm back! My internet connection was seriuosly messed up these past few weeks because of all the stormy weather we've been having!!! Ah, but now the sun is shining and my internet is glitch -free ( for now!!) and I can start sharing some projects again!!! Yup, life is good!!!

Recently, we celebrated a friend's bday - I had some jewelery for her so I wanted so pretty packaging for it. I pulled out some pretty papers and my Cricut and started.... here's what I made:

 

Aren\t these so pretty and girly??? I love the papers in the Recollections " Today Tomorrow Forever" collection. I hardly ever use an entire paper pad up, but this one is disappearing quickly!

 

 

This set has so many fab patterns .... definitely money well spent!!

 

 

 

I used my Cricut to create the label for the cardfront and stamped a Verve greeting with CTMH's Juniper ink, which happens to be a perfect match for the polka dot paper ... I love it when that happens!!! The flower is from Wild Orchard crafts and the ribbon was purchased at a local craft store.

 

 

Here's the lil' gift bag ( cut  with Artiste cart) - it's the perfect size for small jewelery, giftcards or even a yummy treat. I added a  rolled flower ( made with Art Philosophy) I sponged the tisuue paper in CTMH Sorbet ink and stamped 'celebrate" all over and then ran it through a hand held embosser .... trust me , it's so cute!!! The flourish behind the flower is a die from Memory Box and the polka dot ribbon is old SU! stuff.

 

This was a quick project , and now that my mojo is back , I'm off to create!!!

Thanks for stopping by today.... enjoy the rest of your day!!!

 

Happy 50Th birthday card

Hi all! Just a quick post to share with you a card I made for a special someone (who shall remain unnamed!!!) who is turning 50 very soon!  I love shaped cards and my Cricut is the perfect tool for this! Check it out....

 

 I used the Artiste cartridge for the flowers , the circle mats and cardbase - it took longer to select the colors I wanted !! I love gray and yellow together and the paperpad I got from MME has several lovely papers with this combo. The birthday sentiment is from Verve Stamps ( Big Wish). The oval  mat as well as the black label for the sentiment, and the leaves are from Stampin'Up! I have a stash of pearls , probably got them at a local $store. The cardstock & number stickers  are from American Crafts.... this is the best cardstock I've found for cutting with my Cricut . CTMH cardstock cuts nicely as well.... SU cs I found to be too thick , especially for intricate cuts- it tends to tear ... ugh, so frustrating!!!

 

Anyway that's my card for today, hope you've enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

 

 

Christmas duo- card and gift bag

Hello! Hope you're having a great Saturday so far! Have you checked out the current challenge at Jingle Belles yet? They have a guest Belle joining them this week and she has a great sketch for us to play along with! Click here to visit Allison Fillo's blog, Stampin When I Can. Here's her sketch for this week's JB challenge:




I decided that since the Christmas season is fast approaching that I should probably get a start on gift tags,etc. while I'm at it! So I made a bag topper to go along with my card.

 

I found the idea for gift bag toppers on Pinterest ( the best place on the web to spend way too much time browsing!!!). Sorry the card looks a little blurry but I have more pics to share.....

 

 

 

Here's a better pic of my card... I incorporated all elements of the sketch except for the three embellishmnets on top ... I just couldn't get them to work!!!! I inked up SU's  Greeting Card

 Kids on a diecut ornament and then colored her with my Copic markers.

 

 

The inside is  decorated with Michaels ornament stamps and a greeting from Flourishes called Sentimental Christmas. The cardstock / ink is from Stampin' Up! and the patterned papers are from Michaels' Recollection  Christmas  2011 paperline. The sparkly stickers are from American Crafts. I used an embossing folder ( Lifetstyle Crafts) for the banner on the card front. The diecut ornament and Merry Christmas were made with my Cricut ( Art Phiosophy and Artiste cartridges).

 

That's my Jingle Belles card for the Do You Sketch What I Sketch? challenge.

Thanks for stopping my blog today!

 

 

** Instructions on how to make this topper can be found here **

 

 

 

 

Mojo Monday : Butterfly B-Day

Hi all! Can you believe we are just 53 days away from Christmas??? October went by in a blur- I barely got any crafting time in and now that it's November, I'm starting to thinnk Christmas! So you'd think my card for this week's Mojo Monday would be all about the holidays... nope!!! Before I start my Christmas crafting, I needed to make a special birthoday card for my aunt who will be turning 50 this month ( shh, don't tell her I posted her age here!!!!!!).

Here's this week's  Mojo sketch :



 She loves butterflies so, of course, I had to incorporate them into my card.....

 

The card shape and butterfly were made using my Cricut and the Art Philosophy ( butterfly) and Artiste ( cardbase) cartridges. I even cut the circles out  with my Cricut..... talk about easy-peasy!!!

I used scraps of paper for the circles, tag and butterfly and the ribbon is Stampin' Up! (button and twine , too!). I love Close To My Heart's cardstock... it cuts so  smoothly with my Cricut and the colors are gorgeous!!! I used Goldrush for the card base and the ink is Lagoon ( which is kinda similar to the retired Taken With Teal from SU but not as dark).

 

So now that I've made my birthday card, maybe I can  now focus  my energy on Christmas-y crafts!!!

 

Thanks for stopping by today... have a great day!

 

Trick Or Treat

Hello! Do you have all your treats ready for Halloween.... or are you like me and like to wait until the last minute to get those treat bags ready for when those lil trick-or-treaters come knocking on your door. Luckily for me , my son has a really small class so I can do it the night before!! I have my goodies bought ( now I just need to resist eating them!!!), so I geuss I'm almost ready and I still have lots of time before the big night!!
But , meanwhile, I have been busy getting my papercrafting treats made. like this card and treat container I made for my son's teacher.....

 

I had so much fun making these! Of course, my Cricut came in handy making the little treat box from the Artiste cartridge. I used a new technique I found on Splitcoastsatmpers forum called Twisted Card - you can search YouTube to find the tutorial for this really easy technique.

 

 

The spider was also cut from the Artiste cart. I stamped this potion label from CTMH's Magic Potion's set.

 

 

The tree and fence were cut from the  Mini Monsters cartridge and the vampire is from a Michael's stamp set , which I colored with my Copic markers.

 

 

 

The insidehas a pocket that  holds a giftcard. The sentiment is from SU's Fang-tastic set ( retired, I think). The papers are from a 6X6 minipad called Oct31 from Fancy Pants Designs. The orange dotted paper is from my stash.

 

 

 

A close up of the giftcard /tag.

 

 

I even decorated the back with more Fancy Pants paper!

 

I'm entering this project over at Shopping Our Stash Trick Or Treat challenge.

 

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

 

 

 

 

 

Fall Banner and Cooking With Cricut #104

Hello crafty friends! As we sadly say goodbye to the warm lazy days of summer , our thoughts turn to fall and crisp days and bursts of fall colors. I love the many colors of fall... it's my favorite season ( for that part, anyway!!!) and I especially love fall decor! This year while spending quality time perusing Pinterest ( OMG, how addicting is that site!!!!) I found some beatiful boards dedicated to all things fall. That inspired me to do a little fall crafting of my own. Of course, my Cricut ic my go-to tool for papercrafting and the CTMH cartridges , Artiste and Art Philosophy spend most of their time in use!!! I used the Art Philosophy for ths banner.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used the banner shapes ( basic, triangle, rounded) cut at 6" from chipboard and then out of brown cardstock. I then used some autumn papers from a paperpad for the banner mats and the leaves and rosettes ( cut from the Artiste file at 8.5 ". The letters are glitter paper as are the flourishes. I'm not hapy with the ribbon , but it will have to do until I get to town next week!!

 

I'm entering this over at Cooking With Cricut for their Texture challenge .

 

Thanks for stopping by blog today! Have a great day!!

 

 

 

Spooky treats with CTMH Artiste Cricut Cartridge

Hello! I recieved my new cartridge from CTMH, called Artiste and I have to tell you I LOVE it!!! It has 700 images on it (WOW!) and it coordinates with selected stamp sets in the new CTMH catalogue.  I've already made several projects with it , but  first I'd like to share this gable box Halloween treats container.

 

I used the < fit to page> feature to get the biggest size for this box which is about 4X 4.5 " .The paper is retired Stampin' Up!. The "Spooky" word is cut from the new Artiste cartridge. The frame was stamped with CTMH's new set called Perfect Fit-Frames which coordinates with the Art Philosophy cart and was cut at 2.25" . I used CTMH ink, Sunset for the frame. A bit of baker's twine and this box is finnished! So simple , you could easliy make a whole bunch of these for classroom treats. I love the size of this box because you can use it for a small gift , treats, whatever you can think of!! I have dies that are great but I'm limited to one size only.... so I'm super happy to own this awesome cartridge!!!

 

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great rest of your day!!